Apple is set to announce its new lineup of iPods tomorrow, and may also have …

Every year in September, Apple reveals its new iPod lineup in time for the holiday buying season. This year's event takes place tomorrow, and the usual rumors about what Apple plans to announce have popped up. Here's a rundown of some of the things we've been hearing in the hours leading up to the reveal.

iPod touch

Apple will almost certainly reveal an updated iPod touch. Most rumors suggest this year is the year that the iPod touch will finally get camera hardware, most likely including a rear camera much like that in the iPhone 4, as well as a front-facing camera for FaceTime video calls. iOS 4.1 betas have revealed that iPod touch users could use an e-mail address to connect FaceTime calls instead of a mobile number.

The form factor may include design cues from the iPhone 4, but it is also expected to have some type of metal back—perhaps Liquidmetal?—instead of glass. Since Apple has previously promoted the iPod touch for gaming, it will also likely gain the gyroscope-enhanced motion controls of the iPhone 4. No word on the iPod touch gaining full GPS capabilities, though location has become an important part of many mobile apps, so it could happen.

iPod nano

The iPod nano is expected to get the most radical overhaul. Early leaks revealed a small 1.7" touchscreen supposedly destined for a new iPod. Later purported case leaks suggested a small form-factor, touchscreen iPod nano will be revealed tomorrow. We don't know whether or not the video recording feature added to the fifth-generation nano will remain.

iPod shuffle

The prospect of a tiny touchscreen iPod nano seemed as though it might eliminate the need for a iPod shuffle, but the latest rumors suggest that the new, tiny, touchscreen nanos will still have price points comparable to the current generation. Apple is believed to be keeping the shuffle around as an entry-level price point.

iPod classic

iOS 4.1

This update to iOS 4 is expected to add support for the new iPod touch devices. It will also signal the launch of Apple's game-related social network called Game Center. It may also address the proximity sensor issue some iPhone 4 users have experienced, and will give developers a few revised APIs.

None of the betas have been compatible with the iPad, so this update won't likely be the version of iOS 4 for iPad promised to ship in the "fall." Hopefully Apple will have something to announce about when the iPad will be liberated from non-multitasking iOS 3.2 hell.

Apple TV

There have been numerous rumors concerning a long-awaited Apple TV hardware upgrade. It has been suggested that Apple may use tomorrow's planned event to launch a new Apple TV in addition to the usual iPods.

The device is said to be built around Apple's A4 processor and will run a variation of iOS. Instead of a hard drive for storing transferred movie and TV downloads, video will be streamed directly from iTunes. Some rumors have suggested that Apple may change the name back to "iTV," though a British broadcaster owns the rights to that name in the UK. Rumors have also pegged the price of the new device at a mass-market-friendly price of $99, and at least one competitor is already making a countermove based on the speculation.

However, it's not clear exactly how ready Apple is to launch streaming video. The company acquired the necessary engineering talent to build the service when it bought music streaming service Lala late last year, but deals might not be in place for an announcement tomorrow. A recent survey sent to iTunes Store customers suggests Apple may still be gauging consumer interest in streaming.

Even if Apple isn't ready to stream content directly from iTunes, sources told Bloomberg that the new Apple TV expected tomorrow will include the capability to stream content from Netflix. Given the myriad issues with licensing—for instance, HBO refuses to license any of its content for Netflix streaming—there may be enough gaps in both Netflix and iTunes that the services could prove complementary.

One thing that does seem certain, according to Wall Street Journal sources, is that Apple will announce 99¢ TV show rentals in an attempt to attract more price-conscious viewers. Only shows from Fox and ABC networks have been confirmed to be part of the launch tomorrow.

iTunes

iTunes is in serious need of a performance overhaul. We hope that Apple announces a fully multithreaded, from-the-ground-up Cocoa rewrite of the iTunes application, but there haven't been any rumors to that effect.

That covers about everything that might get touched on tomorrow, but there's always a chance Steve Jobs might have "one more thing" to surprise us all. Be sure to check out our live coverage, as our Senior Apple Editor Jacqui Cheng will be on the scene keeping us abreast of announcements as they happen. Apple will also be offering a live video stream—but only if you're watching on a device running iOS 3.0 or later, or a Mac running Snow Leopard. Windows and non-Safari browsers are not invited to the streaming party.

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35 Reader Comments

"Apple® will broadcast its September 1 event online using Apple’s industry-leading HTTP Live Streaming, which is based on open standards. Viewing requires either a Mac® running Safari® on Mac OS® X version 10.6 Snow Leopard®, an iPhone® or iPod touch® running iOS 3.0 or higher, or an iPad™."

So basically our awesome tech built on open standards...as long as you buy something from us first.

Wonder if it's something you can use if you spoof your user agent or if there are actually MacOS/iOS resources it needs to run.

Classic: I don't think it's outside the realm of possibilities that the Classic could turn into a fat iPod Touch.

iTV: Not sure we're going to see this one yet. It's probably big enough to justify its own event. I think Apple would want to give developers a couple of months to build apps too. At best I think they'll announce it and ship in October or November.

Regarding the Nano. I bought one recently to put in my car and when I took it out of the box I tried swiping on the screen to control the cover flow display. It seemed seriously odd that I had to use the click wheel for navigation. A touch screen would make a lot of sense. But, I would like to see the play/pause controls remain as actual buttons. If everything is onscreen it is difficult to control without looking at the screen which is difficult to do while walking around.

I wish they'd roll iTunes back a major revision. I find the store painful to use now. The interface has always been web-like, but recently it has lost all the custom controls which made it easier to use than most websites. Now, it feels exactly like a poorly designed website and might as well be accessed through Safari. I've pretty much stopped buying music altogether.

I'd like to see the belated OS update for the iPad.

And, if I could dream, the home screen of the iPhone would finally get landscape mode.

I imagine that if they announce iOS4 for iPad, they're also going to announce a new iPad and bring its features up to parity with iPhone 4.

I think they probably will announce that, too, actually, since Android tablets are starting to come into existence. A new iPad would be a nice wrench for Apple to throw into those gears.

A new iPad? Are you kidding?Apple don't release updates sporadically, and certainly not some months after launch. I would expect a minor update a year from the original launch, and a major update two years from it. This is the approximate upgrade cycle for the iMac and iPhone.

I think this generation of iPad is supposed to be for iOS4, and it's just us stupid early adopters that have been stuck with a previous generation operating system for it. But then, I thought iOS4 for iPad would long be out by now, and there's not even a developer release yet, so maybe we are looking at iOS4 around the time for the next iPad hardware upgrade.

"Apple® will broadcast its September 1 event online using Apple’s industry-leading HTTP Live Streaming, which is based on open standards. Viewing requires either a Mac® running Safari® on Mac OS® X version 10.6 Snow Leopard®, an iPhone® or iPod touch® running iOS 3.0 or higher, or an iPad™."

So basically our awesome tech built on open standards...as long as you buy something from us first.

Wonder if it's something you can use if you spoof your user agent or if there are actually MacOS/iOS resources it needs to run.

Just wait till the Fanapplec's come in to tell you how copyright and patent law is all screwed up while boosting Apple.

Me. I do love Apple products. I just don't agree with all of Apple's politics. Nor do I agree with Microsoft, Sony, or any other corporation 's politicking. I just voice my opinion and put my dollars where I think they are best deserved.

"Apple® will broadcast its September 1 event online using Apple’s industry-leading HTTP Live Streaming, which is based on open standards. Viewing requires either a Mac® running Safari® on Mac OS® X version 10.6 Snow Leopard®, an iPhone® or iPod touch® running iOS 3.0 or higher, or an iPad™."

So basically our awesome tech built on open standards...as long as you buy something from us first.

Wonder if it's something you can use if you spoof your user agent or if there are actually MacOS/iOS resources it needs to run.

This is basic "Apple release behaviour": Build an "imaginary" barrier so you are not overwhelm by demand.Remember MobileMe release's fiasco.

The company acquired the necessarily engineering talent to build the service when it bought music streaming

Typo in there. On topic, the only horse I have in this race is iOS 4.1 and a new version of iTunes. Not a customer of the other stuff. I'd give OS 4.1 a good chance, but chatter about it has really fallen off. First I've heard of a possible new iTunes. That'd be a nice surprise, but not holding my breath.

If they kill the iPod Classic, I'd seriously consider buying one on closeout.

But man oh man, iTunes is just a dog, and needs a complete rewrite. What bothers me is what I hear about Apple development practices, where they shuffle engineers around to where they're needed, which means well rounded engineers, but also means that sometimes good things only happen if an engineer is interested in making things better. (and the conspiracy theorist in me says that this helps prevent political power blocs from forming).

As for streaming, it's about damn time, but now we'll get all the whiners who can't stream it on their platform of choice, plus the people attempting to redirect into Ustream and other services.

I imagine that if they announce iOS4 for iPad, they're also going to announce a new iPad and bring its features up to parity with iPhone 4.

I think they probably will announce that, too, actually, since Android tablets are starting to come into existence. A new iPad would be a nice wrench for Apple to throw into those gears.

A new iPad? Are you kidding?Apple don't release updates sporadically, and certainly not some months after launch. I would expect a minor update a year from the original launch, and a major update two years from it. This is the approximate upgrade cycle for the iMac and iPhone.

I think this generation of iPad is supposed to be for iOS4, and it's just us stupid early adopters that have been stuck with a previous generation operating system for it. But then, I thought iOS4 for iPad would long be out by now, and there's not even a developer release yet, so maybe we are looking at iOS4 around the time for the next iPad hardware upgrade.

I suppose so. I should disclose that I am a Windows/Android/PSP/Kindle owner who doesn't own a single Apple product, but I still think now would be a very good time for them to announce a new iPad to take away some of Android's tablet momentum. I'm sure we all know that Apple can announce pretty much anything and have its loyalists buy in immediately, and I imagine Apple knows that, too.

All they would have to do is announce a new iPad with some marginal upgrades over the original, market it the same way they always do, and have people buy it. Maybe also drop the price on the current one. Once people buy into iPad, they will no longer have the incentive or disposable income to even consider one of Apple's competitors.

iTunes is in serious need of a performance overhaul. We hope that Apple announces a fully multithreaded, from-the-ground-up Cocoa rewrite of the iTunes application, but there haven't been any rumors to that effect.

My personal "out there" hope for an updated iPod Touch is that Apple will have managed to negotiate a deal similar to the iPad and thus be able to offer a 3G model with a month-to-month plan, just like the iPad. That would be excellent, though given the obvious competition with the iPhone and phone companies' ridiculously overpriced plans it seems improbable. Beyond that, I just hope they don't cripple it too much vs the iPhone (taking out GPS etc).

My super super out there hope is side loading, but we'll probably need government regulation to make that happen .

naql wrote:

If they release an iPod touch 120GB I'll buy it as soon as its available. I'll be happy to replace my iPod Classic.

Um, not likely, to put it mildly. Unlike other components flash pricing is reasonably predictable, since it directly tracks available fab technology. You shouldn't expect any major jumps forward until the next major process shrink and/or wafer bump comes online, which looks like at the earliest Q4 of this year. Intel looks like they'll be making the next big bump, but likely a lot of their capacity, if not all, will be going straight to their SSDs. Though I could be wrong I'd be pretty surprised to see any huge boosts to flash storage before next year.

"Apple® will broadcast its September 1 event online using Apple’s industry-leading HTTP Live Streaming, which is based on open standards. Viewing requires either a Mac® running Safari® on Mac OS® X version 10.6 Snow Leopard®, an iPhone® or iPod touch® running iOS 3.0 or higher, or an iPad™."

So basically our awesome tech built on open standards...as long as you buy something from us first.

Wonder if it's something you can use if you spoof your user agent or if there are actually MacOS/iOS resources it needs to run.

All they would have to do is announce a new iPad with some marginal upgrades over the original, market it the same way they always do, and have people buy it. Maybe also drop the price on the current one. Once people buy into iPad, they will no longer have the incentive or disposable income to even consider one of Apple's competitors.

Apple are selling them faster than they can make the product, they have been forced to postpone international launches because of this. A new model makes zero sense. Also, what Android tablet momentum, got any numbers on those?

All they would have to do is announce a new iPad with some marginal upgrades over the original, market it the same way they always do, and have people buy it. Maybe also drop the price on the current one. Once people buy into iPad, they will no longer have the incentive or disposable income to even consider one of Apple's competitors.

Apple are selling them faster than they can make the product, they have been forced to postpone international launches because of this. A new model makes zero sense. Also, what Android tablet momentum, got any numbers on those?

I was talking more about Android momentum in general. Apologies for the confusion.

As far as I know, Android tablets aren't out yet, but if you look at how quickly Android cut into iOS's market for phones, you might be hard pressed to assume that the same thing can't happen in the tablet market once the first Android tablets roll off the line. Why even risk the possibility of that if you're Apple, when you can soften the blow right now?

A new iPad? Are you kidding?Apple don't release updates sporadically, and certainly not some months after launch. I would expect a minor update a year from the original launch, and a major update two years from it. This is the approximate upgrade cycle for the iMac and iPhone.

Uh, the iPhone gets a (internally) significant upgrade every year. The mobile market is evolving too fast to sit around.

My guess is the iPad will soon get, at the very least, a RAM upgrade so that it can run iMovie. With rumors of the iPhone 4 getting a new antenna fix after Sep 30, and a CDMA/Verizon version in January, this could be a messy six months for Apple's mobile product lines. In the long run I expect all the iOS devices to sync up again with common OS updates, but don't count on any regularity for the near future.

This would also reinforce the reason why Apple dropped out of the January MacWorld Expo timeline - they need more flexibility for major product announcements on their own schedule, not someone else's.

Why even risk the possibility of that if you're Apple, when you can soften the blow right now?

They are already having the enormous iPad cushion that is huge sales. They can not sell them any faster. No Android device is even close to threatening the iPod touch either, there is another soft pillow that will grow bigger tomorrow. As for the iPhone, well, they are selling so fast that Apple can not make enough either (see apple store for shipping times). There is no need to introduce new models when you sell them like opium-topped hot cheesecake.

Got any numbers on how Android is eating into iOS devices? As far as my memory serves Android has eaten more into the Win/Nokia camp than into the iOS.

Another point: While Apple might seem to boost about high market share all the time what they are really aiming for is profit and high market share in a market that is about to mature will undoubtedly include a race to the bottom, something Apple will not participate in. This race to the bottom will most likely result in lower market share for iOS than Android, but is says nothing about profit, or more importantly for consumers, quality of the product.

I would rather have iOS at 15% market share with a nice high quality product and living app store than at 45% in the race for the bottom.

I would rather have iOS at 15% market share with a nice high quality product and living app store than at 45% in the race for the bottom.

I think you're right, because Apple is doing this with the Mac. Even if Mac sales grow and grow, Apple guys know that one day, they'll hit a wall, the price wall. Some people won't/can't afford the price of Apple computers, even if they were proven 100% better than the competition's offer (which they aren't). So, they'll end up with a 10-15% share worldwide, 20% maximum, that leaves at least 78% for MS and 2% for Linux (I'm talking end-user computers here, not servers).

It probably won't be so drastic numbers with the iDevices, but Apple won't be so big, in term of percentages, forever. But they'll be in total sales (not relatives ones though) and in profits. They'll end-up with the same reputation that they have in computers: higher prices, but higher quality and service.

Now, I know that this definition of Apple products is far from pleasing anyone and, though I am an Apple user, I can't say that their products are perfect and that competitors have nothing good to offer, but I'm talking image here. Believe me, the mass of non-geeky people see Apple products as "better", whatever that word means to them. I think it's an equation like this: marketing+actual quality+urban legends+happy users outweighing unhappy ones= reputation and sales (up to a limit, of course).

Now, for my guess work for tomorrow in term of probability:- New iPod Nanos and Touches- Some new iTunes Store features and services- Updated Apple TV- New iTunes and iLife (more a wish than anything though)

1. Possibly new Nano (possibly...)2. Definitely new 4th gen iPod Touch (second gen is obviously getting canned, just bought a refurb).3. iTV will be the big news!!4. Possible update on iTunes which will include the streaming service.

Beyond that I think the iPad is not going to have any hardware upgrades until next year.The iPod Classic, sadly is on its way out. The iPod Touch is its predecessor. iTV is going to be the big thing. I think it will be the major talk tomorrow.Nothing on iMacs, nothing on Mac Pro's, nothing on Macbook Pro's or OSX.

My solution to the iTunes problem is to have iTunes X look almost identical to the iPod app on the iPad. Simple, focused, clean. Divorce all the iOS-centric management stuff and syncing to a standalone application (iSync? Duh?) Divorce video playback to iVideo which would look a lot like the current Apple TV UI. Add the iTunes Store to each one of these applications defaulting to the right place. If I'm opening iSync all I care about are applications. iTunes is the music store, iVideo is the video store. Simple enough. All these different pieces could be glued together via the iTunes X GUI but they should basically be standalone applications. If you don't want to use Apple's media players you just install iSync and you're done.

If they release an iPod touch 120GB I'll buy it as soon as its available. I'll be happy to replace my iPod Classic.

I'm pretty much with you on this. My only concern about going touch is the lack of tactile response (unless it has some physical buttons?)... Right now, I can have my iPod Classic in my pocket and pause/play and skip tracks without having to take it out and look at it. I don't even have to reach into my pocket to do that.

But, I'm sure that if an iTouch with good capacity makes it out, I'll be willing to forgo all of that in favor of its many other features.

iTunes is in serious need of a performance overhaul. We hope that Apple announces a fully multithreaded, from-the-ground-up Cocoa rewrite of the iTunes application, but there haven't been any rumors to that effect.

I was not aware iTunes was not fully Cocoa... but that would be cool!

No, it's carbon. That's not the only reason it's a pile of shit, but it's a big one.

I'd love to see a new iSync app that manages all that stuff separate to iTunes, and wirelessly. Buuutt that reduces the link between iDevices and iTMS, iDevices probably being largely responsible for its success.

I'm hoping tomorrow clarifies all the streaming rumours we've been hearing. Everything from an iOS TV that just handles streaming video to a wirelessly available iTunes library is exactly what I'm wanting from Apple lately, and I'm sick of half-hearing about it!

I really hope they don't kill the clickwheel nano (I was really hoping for a 32GB version). Touchscreens aren't the answer to everything.

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I don't care about apps or cameras or any of that crap on an MP3 player. I just need to be able to use the thing in my car, where you need the tactile feedback of physical controls in order to not get into a wreck while switching songs, and you just can't get that with a touchscreen.

Face time is a waste of time.. Unless you know a bunch of people who have an Iphone 4 or this new Ipod touch who would want to see your mug, there really no reason for the face time feature.. Unless you been living under a rock for 10 years. Most people text.. Some people don't even pick up the phone anymore.. Text, Text, Text. What Apple should have done is make it that the Ipod touch do 720 video.. That would have been the big seller.. Who really cares about Face Time.. Now, the Nano I understand. Love the screen, but the shuffle.. Waste.. the Nano is a good size, plus it has a screen.. It's about time they come up with udates... 3G needs it bad, like yesterday... Even the 3GS suffers and the Ipod touch too... Get with the program.. other than that Apple TV.. Too late in the game.. Hulu on PS3, Netflix on PS3, Steaming movies and TV shows On PS3 and Xbox and Wii.. Sorry, Apple TV is more of an Apple too late to the game.. $.99 for rental of a TV show.. Yea right.. no thank you, I have Hulu..